Child Identification - Thinking Of Fingerprinting Your Children?

When speaking to parents about child identification, the first things that come to mind are fingerprints and DNA information. However, there seems to be a complete lack of awareness regarding fingerprints and the crucial need in updating them on a regular basis.

Most parents, with the exception of people who have studied medicine or criminology, believe that their children?s fingerprints remain the same from birth to death.

We all believe our fingerprints to be as permanent as a tiger?s stripes since they are formed before our birth, while in the womb. Though this is absolutely correct, here is the kicker; children?s fingerprints are actually changing for the first five to seven years of their life.

The easiest way to explain this contradiction to you is with the following example; picture an under-inflated balloon with a picture on its surface, as this under-inflated balloon has air added to it, the picture becomes larger and becomes somewhat distorted.

With this in mind, think about the size of a newborn?s fingers. Pretty darn tiny!

On average it takes children approximately eighteen to twenty one months before their very tiny fingerprints have developed enough to be of any use. We have all heard the expression ?As smooth as a baby?s bottom? this also applies to fingers!

That is why footprints are taken for children younger than twenty-one months of age.

Now getting back to our ?balloon?, think of your child?s fingerprints as the picture on the balloon, as they grow older, their fingerprints, though they are actually changing, remain the same. One thing to keep in mind is that as your children grow older, their fingerprints might also change due to their skin?s flexibility and also due to disfiguration caused by a scar(s).

When studying fingerprints, the authorities use certain identifying features or characteristic points: ridge endings, dots and bifurcations, in order to make a positive identification. With every passing year of your child?s life, their fingers are growing in size, and these characteristic points become more pronounced, it becomes easier for the authorities to read your child?s fingerprints.

For this reason, it is your task, as a responsible parent to update your child?s fingerprints at least once a year. The thought of the fingerprints ever becoming useful is in itself a bone chilling one, for they are only used after the unimaginable has happened, passive identification. However, if needed, do you not want to provide the authorities with your child?s the most accurate and easiest to distinguish identification?

Our next tidbit of advice is on the location in which parents keep their children?s fingerprints. We recommend you keep them in a Ziploc baggie in the bottom of the freezer.

Here are some of the reasons for this suggestion:

- Your children do not play in the freezer and other than food nothing is kept in the freezer, therefore, you will always know exactly where they are.

- If you are not at home, you can easily direct a babysitter or neighbor to your freezer.

- Unlike a bank safety deposit box, you always have access to your freezer.

- Unlike a home safe or strong box, if in a state of panic, you don?t have to try and remember a four, five or six digit combination, or try to explain to a babysitter how to open your safe.

Our logic behind this suggestion is; should the unthinkable ever happen, the minute the authorities knock on your door, you want to have your child?s identification/fingerprint kit in their hands. Time is of the essence; you do not want to be tearing the house apart trying to remember where your child?s fingerprints are.

Last tidbit; when leaving town on holidays, don?t forget to pack your children?s identification kit. Once again if something ever happened, your kids identification will not be of much use, two thousand miles away in your freezer.

Our fingerprints are completely unique, one of a kind! Identical twins do not have the same fingerprints, although they do share the same DNA.

Keep in mind, as you are now aware, fingerprints and DNA information will only ever be used after something happens. When looking for a Child ID provider, please remember the old adage ?an ounce of prevention far outweighs a pound of cure?, think ?proactive?.

Scott Irwin is the Marketing Director for Child I.D. Labels inc. For more information on their unique proactive approach to child safety, visit http://www.childidatlantic.com. Child ID Labels is growing and open to international distributorship inquiries. Email us at info@childidatlantic.com.

High-Tech Fingerprint Fraud

Eyeballs, a severed hand, or fingers carried in ziplock bags. Back alley eye replacement surgery. These are scenarios used in recent blockbuster movies like Steven Spielberg's "Minority Report" and "Tomorrow Never Dies" to illustrate how unsavory characters in high-tech worlds beat sophisticated security and identification systems.

Sound fantastic? Maybe not. Biometrics is the science of using biological properties, such as fingerprints, an iris scan, or voice recognition, to identify individuals. And in a world of growing terrorism concerns and increasing security measures, the field of biometrics is rapidly expanding.

"Biometric systems automatically measure the unique physiological or behavioral 'signature' of an individual, from which a decision can be made to either authenticate or determine that individual's identity," explained Stephanie C. Schuckers, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Clarkson University. "Today, biometric systems are popping up everywhere - in places like hospitals, banks, even college residence halls - to authorize or deny access to medical files, financial accounts, or restricted or private areas."

"And as with any identification or security system," Schuckers adds, "biometric devices are prone to 'spoofing' or attacks designed to defeat them."

Spoofing is the process by which individuals overcome a system through an introduction of a fake sample. "Digits from cadavers and fake fingers molded from plastic, or even something as simple as Play-Doh or gelatin, can potentially be misread as authentic," she explains. "My research addresses these deficiencies and investigates ways to design effective safeguards and vulnerability countermeasures. The goal is to make the authentication process as accurate and reliable as possible."

Schuckers' biometric research is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Office of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense. She is currently assessing spoofing vulnerability in fingerprint scanners and designing methods to correct for these as part of a $3.1 million interdisciplinary research project funded through the NSF. The project, "ITR: Biometrics: Performance, Security and Societal Impact," investigates the technical, legal and privacy issues raised from broader applications of biometric system technology in airport security, computer access, or immigration. It is a joint initiative among researchers from Clarkson, West Virginia University, Michigan State University, St. Lawrence University, and the University of Pittsburgh.

Fingerprint scanning devices often use basic technology, such as an optical camera that take pictures of fingerprints which are then "read" by a computer. In order to assess how vulnerable the scanners are to spoofing, Schuckers and her research team made casts from live fingers using dental materials and used Play-Doh to create molds. They also assembled a collection of cadaver fingers.

In the laboratory, the researchers then systematically tested more than 60 of the faked samples. The results were a 90 percent false verification rate.

"The machines could not distinguish between a live sample and a fake one," Schuckers explained. "Since liveness detection is based on the recognition of physiological activities as signs of life, we hypothesized that fingerprint images from live fingers would show a specific changing moisture pattern due to perspiration but cadaver and spoof fingerprint images would not."

In live fingers, perspiration starts around the pore, and spreads along the ridges, creating a distinct signature of the process. Schuckers and her research team designed a computer algorithm that would detect this pattern when reading a fingerprint image. With the new detection system integrated into the device, less than 10 percent of the spoofed samples were able to fool the machine.

Addressing potential problems before they can occur is one of the goals of Schuckers' biometrics research. "As security systems based on biometrics continue to develop, it is important that people are reassured that their privacy is protected," she said. "How confident will someone feel giving his/her fingerprint over a public communication channel, such as the Internet? The technology needs to be solid and reliable and offer adequate privacy protection before biometric security systems will be accepted by the public."

Schuckers is also a member of the Center for Identification Technology, a cooperative research center headquartered at West Virginia University that brings together the NSF, industry and government agencies, and university researchers. She is director of the Biomedical Signal Analysis Laboratory at Clarkson. Schuckers joined the faculty of Clarkson in 2002. She received her doctoral degree in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan in 1997.

Clarkson University, located in Potsdam, New York is a private, nationally ranked university with a reputation for developing innovative leaders in engineering, business, the sciences, health sciences and the humanities. At Clarkson, 3,000 high-ability students excel in an environment where learning is not only positive and supportive but spans the boundaries of traditional disciplines and knowledge. Faculty achieve international recognition for their research and scholarship and connect students to their leadership potential in the marketplace through dynamic, real-world problem solving.

CGB Spender

The Fleagle Gang: Betrayed by a Fingerprint - Written by N.T. Betz

Fleagle Story - Incredible

You better believe it! This story tossed down through the ages, generation after generation, toppled the lives of a community in the roaring 20's, rankled the great plains, and scoured a nation. Little Jake Fleagle, a name innocent enough in conception, appears a bit as one might expect to appear on the Apple Dumpling Gang, in the Little Raskals, or more recently appearing Slappy and the Stinkers. But the man had no dimples, he wasn't cute, and his memory shivers fear though the citizens of southeastern Colorado.

On a warm sunny May afternoon, First National Bank opened for business; a day like any other in 1928. Laughter regaled the prairie, neighbor folks cheerfully greeted each other, and life in rural Lamar, Colorado resounded with pure simplicity. May 23, 1928 echoes through history as the date Lamar, Colorado lost its innocence. Ravaged by murder of prominent citizens, the community changed. Innocence abandoned the towns people, and brash reality filled it's place

The story is told in historic simplicity by one of the community's best, N.T. "Tom" Betz with the expertise and accuracy we've all come to expect from the Betz family. The Betz family published the local paper for many years, including during the time of the robbery. News reals, publications, articles, and people who remember the incident well were interviewed and included for this factual commentary of one of the most magnificent crimes, still 77 years after the event, taunted as the biggest robbery in County History. Details of an intense and on going investigation and search for the men guilty of murder make this a most interesting and profound book. Intriguing commentary, news items, and recounts of historic court room events, tracking options, and numerous "firsts" used in the investigation of the crime and location of the guilty parties make this book a worthy read for anyone interested in history of crime investigations.

Some of the numerous "firsts" in the investigation process included:

* First fingerprint used to identify and locate the guilty party in a murder/robbery.

* First time aeroplanes were used in tracking criminals traveling by vehicle away from a crime.

One interesting aspect of the investigation and search included the various forms of communication used by everyone involved.

* Messages dropped from planes.

* People receiving verbal shouts from passing officials.

* Messages left with injured bystanders.

* Notes written and passed from person to person.

* Telephone messages sent hours after the fact, saved, for hours, in case another message is received.

* Telegraph.

In todays' remarkable world of nanosecond communications, technologically advanced instant forms of transmission, and instant satellite tracking systems reading the historical commentary of first implemented fingerprint and flight tracking gives the reader a comprehension of the extreme radical changes experienced by even basic services across our nation, and around the world.

Tom's rendition of this hellacious scar on Southeastern Colorado History bring tears to the citizens there, and revelations to those who pass through... An understanding of the isolation experienced by those who reside in the area.

I?m Jan Verhoeff, a writer from Southeastern Colorado. When I pick up a book to read, it better be good. Time is of the essence, so the few books I get to read have to capture my interest, or I put them down fast. For more book reviews and writer info, visit my Writer Blog at http://www.writeurthoughts.blogspot.com

Your Preferences -- as Unique as Your Fingerprints

Would life be different, if you believed that everything you love and enjoy is just right for you?

What would happen if you knew yourself so well you could say with confidence, "No thank you, I prefer..."

How would you look at others, if you really understood that their choices are perfect for them?

The Law of Attraction teaches us to recognize our personal preferences by noticing how things feel and asking ourselves, "Which feels better? This or that?" When we take the time to notice our feelings, we learn about ourselves in a way that leads to great personal freedom and happiness.

Before I learned about the Law of Attraction and how I attract people, situations and opportunities in complete accord with my vibration (vibes), I tried to live by a set of standards or principles. I remember a time when I asked my pastor if he could give me a list of these principles so I could make sure I was living the right way. I did everything I could to be the perfect mother, dutiful housewife and selfless Christian. I thought that by conforming to what other people expected, I would become happy too. I was NOT a happy, joyful person. I was a person in great emotional and eventually physical, pain.

But the Law of Attraction taught me to notice when something doesn't feel good, because that feeling of discomfort is an indicator that something is NOT good for me. Anything out of alignment with who I am and all the purposes I came to fulfill will NOT feel good. WOW! I had been placing my hand on a hot stove and trying to feel comfortable with the pain. I'd lived with chronic emotional and physical pain for so long that I was becoming numb to it. (A third degree burn is painless because all the nerve endings are burned away.)

One day, the truth finally dawned on me: Only I can choose what is best for me. No one can tell me what is good for me--only I can tell. And the way I tell is by noticing how everything feels, then looking for the thought, answer, idea or thing that feels best.

"Good feels good. Bad feels bad." -Abraham-Hicks

Knowing and honoring my personal preferences causes me to fulfill ALL my life purposes--naturally. Everything I set out to do during this lifetime is already programmed within me. The way I 'read the program' is to notice what brings me great joy and follow that lead. In fact, this is the shortest and easiest way to find fulfillment. Before I learned about the Law of Attraction, I felt like I had lost 30 years of my life by trying to endure a poor marriage. But within 5 years of applying the Law of Attraction in the way described in this article, I felt caught up on life. About two years ago, I had a profound realization: "Today, I am exactly where I would be, if I had done the first 55 years of my life differently." That is a GREAT feeling!

Now I tell my students: "Your personal preferences are as unique to you as your fingerprints. Only you can do certain things in this life and your preferences are there to guide you into actually living life in the most joyfully satisfying way!"

What about you? Are you seeing yourself in this light? Have you wondered why you don't fit in with the crowd? Are you ready to accept yourself and your preferences as being right for YOU?

Do you have a secret dream, desire or hope?

Contact Rebecca to learn how YOU can live your dream!

Please notify Rebecca if you wish to reproduce this article. Thanks!

Rebecca is leading a training course for Coaches, Therapists, Nurses and other Professionals who are ready to make a paradigm shift within themselves (a change from one way of thinking to another) to better serve their clients or patients.

http://www.youcanhaveitall.com

Fingerprinting in Forensic Science

Fingerprints collected from a crime scene, or from items of evidence from a crime, can be used in forensic science to identify suspects, victims and other persons who touched the surface in question. Fingerprint identification emerged as an important system within various police agencies in the late 19th century. This system replaced anthropometric measurements as a more reliable method for identifying persons having a prior record, often under an alias name, in a criminal record repository. The science of fingerprint identification stands out among all other forensic sciences for many reasons because of its superiority and reliability.

Worldwide, fingerprinting has served all governments during the past 100 years to provide accurate identification of criminals. No two fingerprints have ever been found alike in the billions of human and automated computer comparisons. Fingerprints have become the very basis for criminal history foundation at almost every police agency.

The first forensic professional organization, the International Association for Identification (IAI), was established in 1915. It established the first professional certification program for forensic scientists, the IAI's Certified Latent Print Examiner program in 1977, issuing certification to those meeting stringent criteria and revoking certification for serious errors such as erroneous identifications.

Fingerprints remain the most commonly used forensic evidence the world over. In most jurisdictions, fingerprint examination cases outnumber all other forensic examination casework combined. It continues to expand as the premier method for identifying persons, with tens of thousands of persons added to fingerprint repositories daily in America alone - far outdistancing similar databases in growth. Fingerprinting has outperformed DNA and all other human identification systems to identify more murderers, rapists and other serious offenders (fingerprints solve ten times more unknown suspect cases than DNA in most jurisdictions).

Although some reporters and authors claim that fingerprints have long enjoyed a mystique of infallibility, the opposite is true. Fingerprint identification was the first forensic discipline in 1977 to formally institute a professional certification program for individual experts, including a procedure for decertifying those making any investigative errors. Other forensic disciplines later followed suit in establishing certification programs whereby certifications could be revoked for any error found.

Fingerprint identifications lead to far more positive identifications of persons worldwide daily than any other human identification procedure. The American federal government alone effects positive identification of over 70,000 persons. A large percentage of the identifications, approximately 92% of US Visit identifications, are affected in lights-out, no human involved computer identification process with 100% accuracy based on only two fingerprints.

Forensic Science provides detailed information on Forensic Science, Forensic Science Degrees, Forensic Science Colleges, Forensic Science Schools and more. Forensic Science is affiliated with Biotechnology Careers.

 

How are Fingerprints Obtained From a Crime Scene?

A fingerprint is comprised of a collection of different swirling lines, each one completely unique based on the way the lines are formed and patterned. There are only seven different line types that make up different finger prints, but because the lines can start, split or stop at any point within the fingerprint, there are an endless number of patterns that can be created. The billions of different fingerprints that exist are comprised of many different angles, lengths, formations, widths and heights of these seven different line types.

Fingerprints left at crime scenes can be uncovered using several different methods. One of the most popular methods uses various adhering powders that are attracted to the oils present in fresh fingerprints. The fingerprint is made visible because the powder sticks to the oil imprint of the lines and ridges, forming the fingerprint. Another method for discovering fingerprints involves using either superglue, or Cyano-Acrylate, that vaporize when heated and the smoke attaches to the fingerprint in order to leave a visible white print. There are other methods that can be utilized in order to discover latent finger prints, but these typically involve specialized laboratory equipment that is not always available to crime scene technicians.

Fingerprint dusting methods work best with fresh fingerprints because they rely on our skin oils that are naturally secreted from the eccrine glands in our fingertips and are left behind on surfaces that we touch. Only the raised portions of our fingerprints actually touch the surface, which leaves a nice clear fingerprint behind. Fingerprinting dust clings to these skin oils, which is what allows the print to become visible.

Most fingerprints are initially run through state criminal fingerprint databases first. Not all state crime labs have access to the IAFIS database, even though the database is essentially free to use and is available for any crime lab to obtain. Typically, if a crime lab has no luck with a fingerprint search on a local level, they can turn to IAFIS in an attempt to find an out-of-state fingerprint match.

Originally fingerprints only had a great deal of purpose when it came to solving crimes that had already occurred, though fingerprinting is gaining popularity in other crime-fighting methods. Biometrics allow people to keep track of the public coming and going in some circumstances, such as entering a court house by first giving your fingerprint. Many states require you to give your fingerprint when you apply for your driver's license, or have a check cashed in order to prevent fraud. Children are being fingerprinted early so that if they ever go lost, it will be easier to find them because they are in the system. And some high profile buildings like banks have locks which rely on fingerprints in order to open them. So there is a lot more that a fingerprint can do than simply put a bad guy away. They can also keep people safe, and help keep track of people by storing them in the fingerprint database.

Fabiola Castillo is an online marketer for the website NinjaCOPS.com. This virtual store specializes in selling stun guns, kubatons, pepper spray, nunchaku, Air Tasers, home security equipment, and many other self defense products.

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Advanced Lipoprotein Fingerprinting

Advanced Lipoprotein Fingerprinting is a more precise cholesterol test that allows doctors to identify health risks that traditional screens miss. Doctors now have a precise reading not only of a patient's cholesterol levels but other independent risk factors known to be associated with heart disease.

The process separates lipids in the blood to create a detailed cholesterol profile that helps doctors identify patients at risk for heart disease. The detailed graph allows a doctor to precisely analyze a patient's overall risk profile and monitor the effectiveness of a diet or treatment regimen.

This advanced analytical techniques that can help doctors diagnose early warning signs for coronary heart disease, which kills more than 2,600 Americans a day, according to the American Heart Association. High LDL cholesterol is a major cause of coronary heart disease, according to the National Cholesterol Education Program.

Aiming to identify early risk factors, the National Cholesterol Education Program issued guidelines calling for more comprehensive cholesterol screens as well as other risk factors not included in the cholesterol screen.

Early detection, particularly in youth, is the key to slowing down the development of heart disease in later life. Advanced cholesterol screening is a valuable tool that is gaining acceptance among medical insurers.

Texas A&M University researchers created Advanced Lipoprotein Fingerprinting as a more precise cholesterol test that allows doctors to identify health risks that traditional screens miss. LipidLabs further refined the Advanced Lipoprotein Fingerprinting Process and made Advanced Lipoprotein Fingerprinting available for commercialization. LipidLabs' results translate to more accurate and specific data on which to make clinical judgments and guide patient therapy and prevention at reasonable costs.

Clinical Highlights:

1. Screen men over age 34 and women over age 44 every five years.

2. The decision to screen men age 20 to 34 years, women age 20 to 44 years and anyone over 75 years should be based on individual preferences of patient and provider.

3. Measure cholesterol fractionation and provide nutrition and exercise assessment every five years. If likelihood of follow-up is low and patient is not fasting, consider checking total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.

General Awareness Activities:

Employer, School and Community Education Awareness Activities Many educational and medical individuals are playing very impressive and crucial role by putting their efforts in helping to increase the number of children and adults to present themselves for appropriate lipid screenings. Awareness initiative programming conducted includes:

? Posters for company bulletin boards ? General screening information "tents" for tables in reception areas, cafeterias, employee lounges, locker rooms, and other such places ? Incentives to increase compliance with and awareness of guideline screening recommendations Information on the importance of regular lipid screening can be included as part of a larger health promotion/disease prevention initiative which includes not only cholesterol and healthy lifestyles but aware people of heart diseases and appropriate health care utilization as well.

Health care providers should:

? Establish a process to identify those needing cholesterol screening ? Make educational brochures available at time of visit ? Select educational materials based on a nutrition and exercise assessment ? Utilize a system encouraging patients to attend classes if laboratory results suggest benefit from changing nutritional and/or exercise behaviors.

Doctors sometimes also make visits to offices and schools for conducting lipid screenings.

Total Cholesterol >200; LDL >130; HDL<40; or Triglycerides >200? Individuals with a total cholesterol less than or equal to 200 mg/dL (and HDL-cholesterol of 40 mg/dL or above or triglycerides less than or equal to 200) have a desirable cholesterol level are advised to repeat cholesterol fractionation in five years.

Dr. D.S. Merchant Resident Medicine
Gold Medalist (Anatomy & Histology)
Visit: http://www.lipidholdings.com : Health News

 

'FINGERPRINTS' Brings The San Antonio Ghost Children Back To Life

?FINGERPRINTS? is a new film built around the story of the San Antonio Ghost Children. Written by Brian Cleveland, Jason Cleveland and directed by Harry Basil, the story will revolve around the original tale of Texas Schoolchildren killed when their bus either stalled or stopped on railroad tracks in the late 1940s. After the tragic event, ghosts of a few of the children were allegedly seen in and around the area. However, it?s what the unseen ghost children do and have done since that time that has created a supernatural tourist attraction.

Each year thousands of people head out from San Antonio, Texas, to a rural railroad crossing located at the corners of Shane and Villamain Roads, just off of SE Loop 410. Many come just before Halloween, others on weekends or whenever they happen to be visiting San Antonio, Texas. On some occasions a number of cars can be seen lined up near the tracks. While some people wait patiently in their cars, others carefully sprinkle baby powder on the backs of their vehicles.

Although it?s happened thousands of times over the years, people are still in awe over the phenomenon that occurs when drivers turn off their engines, place their cars in neutral and allow unseen forces to take over. Without anyone touching them and against gravity, the vehicles move forward in a slow roll up the grade and over the tracks. As they come to a stop on the other side, anxious drivers and passengers get out checking their vehicles. With few exceptions, impressions in the baby powder that look like tiny fingerprints can be seen.

While the real story tugs at your heart, the new film by Harry Basil will probably be more like a hard slap in your face. According to Fangoria.com:

?Busy director Harry Basil, who already has the cult chiller SOUL?S MIDNIGHT and the zombie opus URBAN DECAY in postproduction, gave Fango some early pics and details on FINGERPRINTS, his supernatural opus currently undergoing additional photography to ?bloody it up,? according to Basil. ?I brought in Vincent Gaustini [who provided DECAY?s FX] to amp up the gore factor in eight scenes. Several studios have expressed interest in the film, but I felt it needed more blood!?

Fangoria.com contacted me about the Basil project. They have an interesting article and some high quality photos from the film, so stop by http://www.fangoria.com/news_article.php?id=2652 and take a look.

The film obviously will not be like Ghost unless you can visualize a remake where Sam comes back out of the light as a zombie, gets angry at Molly and puts her through a wood chipper. But then, most people mistakenly look at the ghost children mystery as an urban legend, rather than a real ghost story. Maybe they should take a trip to Shane and Villamain Roads, just off of SE Loop 410 outside of San Antonio, Texas, turn off their vehicle engine and put it in neutral.

Author: Bill Knell Author's Email: billknell@cox.net Author's Website: http://www.billknell.com Terms To Use Article: Permission is granted to use this article for free online or in print. Please add a link to or print my website address: http://www.billknell.com